Injector heater



J. c. WHITE INJECTOR HEATER Filed July 6, 1936 Jan. 5, `1937.

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Patented Jan. 5, i937 UNITED STATES NJECTOR HEATER John C. White, Madison, Wis. Application July 6, 1936, Serial No. 89,15`

4 Claims.

This invention pertains 'to apparatus for heating water, particularly forinstitutional or commercial purposes, and aims to provide an apparatus by which the exhaust steam from engines,

pumps, or similar equipment may be utilized for heating Water.

vOne of the primary purposesY of my invention is to provide a heater of this type which will be durable, efficient, and economioalin use, and one which can be manufactured and installed at a reasonable cost.

f Another purpose is to provide a heater which is so constructed that it may be readily adjusted Iso as to be capable of connection to Water supply and overflow pipes which may be located in* various positions. In other words, itis notessential for the installation of my heater that the water and overflow lpipes be accurately located in K predetermined positions but, on the other hand, the heater provides for adjustability which enables it to be readily connected to the supply and overflow pipes whether the same extend vertically, horizontally, or at other angles relatively to each other. Convenience for assembly and installation, and efficiency in operation, are important characteristics of this invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, referring to which,

Fig. lis a longitudinal sectional view of a heaterconstructed in accordance with my invention;

j, Fig. 2 is a' fragmentary plan view thereof;

Fig. "3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig." 1; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

' The heater is ofthe injector type wherein the incoming steam and the water to be heated thereby, are delivered to a combining tube of venturi configuration in which the steam and Water are cmbined, the `energy of the expanding steam being transmitted to the entering water with a resultant high velocity and the production of a partial vacuum. at the throat of the venturi, the velocity head being converted to pressure head as the stream V,of combined Awater and steam issues from the outwardly flaring delivery end of the heater. `The construction is such that the delivery of the heated water `may be wholly or partially shut off or turned on Without shutting cfftl'iesteamf orlwater supply since the entering steam and water, when the delivery is shut yolf,

(Cl. 10S-264) Will simply be discharged through an overflow communicating with the throat of the venturi.

The venturi, as illustrated by the drawing, comprises a pair of axially aligned tubes 5 and 6 arranged with their opposed smaller ends in spaced apart relation, so that an opening or passage is formed in the throat of the venturi which consists of the two tubes thus arranged. The ends of the tubes are maintained in said spaced apart relation by a cylindrical sleeve member 'I which is interposed between the circumferential iianges 8 and 9 formed on the tubes in proximity to their smaller ends. The opposed shoulders formed by the faces of these flanges are machined to afford a leakproof t with the ends of the sleeve, so that when drawn tightly together a closed chamber II surrounding the spaced apart ends of the tubes is provided. This chamber serving as the overflow chamber, as will be later described, is provided with a nipple I2 to Which an overflow pipe I3 may be connected. A check valve I4 is interposed in this overflow pipe to prevent ow of air into the chamber I I under the influence of the vacuum produced therein by the venturi-shaped combining tube when in operation, this valve being adapted to open away from the chamber to permit the discharge of overow from the tubes into the chamber when the delivery from the heater is entirely or partially shut off.

For the purpose of holding the tubes in proper position and insuring a tight t between the anges 3 and 9 and the sleeve l, provision is made for rmly clamping the flanges against the ends of the sleeve. The clamping means comprises a pair of sleeves I5 and I5 surrounding the tubes 5 and 6, respectively, and abutting against the outer faces of the ilanges 8 and 9. Preferably the inner ends of the sleeves are tapered or chamfered, as indicated at I'I and I3, and the outer faces of the flanges and 9 are correspondingly undercut, as indicated by reference characters I9 and 2|, respectively. The clamping action is accomplished by'a plurality of bolts 22 passing through the heads of the sleeves I5 and I6 and provided yat one or both ends with nuts 23 threaded onto the bolts. In order to enable the sleeves to be positioned upon the tubes, they are split transversely and, when assembled, are held against separation by the nuts 23, the inner ends of which are concaved, as indicated at 24, to t over the convex ends 25 of bearing studs, onehalf of each of which is formed on each sleeve section.

It will be obvious that with this construction the sleeve 1, upon loosening or removing one or both of the bolts 22, may be adjusted to any desired angular position. For instance, in Fig. 4 the nipple l2 is shown in full lines as projecting downward, in dotted lines it is shown in position as extending at an angle to the vertical, and in another position as disposed at an angle of 180 to the full line position. Obviously any desired position of the nipple for ready connection with an overflow pipe, wherever located, m-ay be attained by simply loosening the clamping bolts and turning the nipple to any desired position.

'This adjustability greatly facilitates the installation of the heater, since it enables the overflow nipple to be disposed in any position which is most convenient for connection with the overflow pipe.

The heating steam, which for reasons of economy is usually exhaust steam although live steam may be employed if preferred, is delivered from any suitable source through piping connected to the nipple 26, which is threaded or otherwise connected with the casing 21, which in turn is connected with the outer end of the tube 5. The steam is delivered from the nipple through a nozzle 28 into the flared receiving end of the tube 5. Water to be heated is supplied to the casing 21 from any suitable source by piping connected with the tapped spud or connection 29, such water being drawn by the injector action of the delivered steam into the tube along with the steam, with the result that the steam and water are combined during their travel through the venturi, the water being heated by absorbing the heat units of the steam and the steam being at the same time condensed.

From the delivery end of the venturi the heated water is delivered to a tank or directly to its point of use through a pipe-line 3|. II" the pipeline be connected with a nozzle, a spray-head, -a washing hose, or other instrumentality through which the heated water is utilized for immediate use, a control valve is usually essential for the purpose of reducing or shutting 01T the delivery of heated water at will. A valve of this general character is designated on the drawing by reference character 32, it being understood, of course, that a valve for this 4purpose would' be located, not in proximity to the heater, as shown, but, for convenience sake, in proximity to the point of use.

In the installation of my novel heater the steam connection to the nipple 26 is made and the connection at 29 to the Water supply pipe can be readily effected, irrespective of the position of this pipe, by turning the casing 21 so as to dispose the connection 29 in any desired direction. By loosening the bolts 22, the overow connection l2 can be turned to any position for convenient coupling with the overflow pipe. The device, therefore, by reason of its adjustability, is readily adaptable for installation in almost any arrangement of steam, water, and overflow connections.

In use, the steam is admitted through the nozzle 28 drawing in the water to be heated, the steam and water being combined in the venturi and delivered through the delivery pipe 3|. During normal operation a vacuum is produced at the throat of the venturi in the overflow chamber Il, which causes the check valve I4 to close, thus preventing an in-flow of air which would' break the vacuum. In the event of closure or throttling of the delivery valve 32, the surplus heated water, which is precluded from escaping through the delivery line, will pass into the overflow chamber ll and from thence be discharged through the check valve and the overflow line.

It is believed that my invention and many of its inherent advantages will be appreciated from the foregoing, and it should be manifest that the structural details illustrated and described are capable of considerable modification within the scope of my invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

l.. An injector heater comprising a Venturi tube consisting of a pair of oppositely tapered tubes arranged in axial alignment with their smaller opposed ends disposed in spaced apart relation, said tubes being provided with circumferential shoulders in proximity to said smaller ends, a cylindrical housing surrounding the spaced apart ends of said tubes and abutting said shoulders, and means for clamping said tubes and housing rigidly together, said means comprising a pair of split sleeves surrounding said tubes and a plurality of bolts connecting said sleeves whereby said sleev-es are forced against said shoulders to clamp the housing between said shoulders.

2. An injector heater comprising a pair of tapered tubes disposed in axial alignment and in spaced apart relation, a water supply connection connected with and extending radially with respect to one of said tubes, an overflow chamber surrounding the opposed ends of said tubes and provided with a radially projecting nipple, and means for adjustably clamping said tubes and chamber together to provide a rigid assembly, said means permitting independent angular adjustment of both said Water supply connection and said overflow nipple to facilitate the connection thereto of prepositioned piping.

3. An injector heater comprising a Venturi tube consisting of a pair of tapered tubes disposed in axial alignment with their smaller inner ends spaced apart to provide an unobstructed space between said ends at the throat of said venturi, said tubes being provided near their opposed ends With radially projecting shoulders, a cylindrical chamber enclosing said unobstructed space and disposed between said shoulders, means for forcing said shoulders against the ends of said chamber to rigidly connect said tubes and chamber, said chamber being adjustable relatively to the tubes upon release of said means, a water supply chamber connected with one end of said Venturi tube, a steam supply nozzle disposed in said chamber and positioned to discharge into said tube, a delivery pipe connected with the other end of said Venturi tube, and a valve in said delivery pipe.

4. An injector heater comprising a pair of axially aligned tapered tubes provided near their opposed ends with circumferential shoulders, an overflow chamber surrounding the opposed ends of said tubes and interposed between and abutting said shoulders to maintain the tubes in spaced apart relation, said chamber being centrally unobstructed to permit direct fluid ow from one of said tubes into the other and being provided with a radially projecting overflow nipple, and means for forcing said shoulders against the ends of said chamber to hold the chamber in adjusted position, said chamber being rotatably adjustable with respect to said tubes upon release of said means.

JOHN o. Wm'rE. 

